Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

Sir Ronald Deane Ross, 2nd Baronet (13 July 1888 – 31 January 1958) was an Ulster Unionist

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP). He was the only son of

Sir John Ross, 1st Baronet Sir John Ross, 1st Baronet, PC (I), KC (1853–1935) was an Irish politician and judge who was the last person to hold the office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Early life He was born in Derry, County Londonderry, Ireland, on 11 December 1 ...

, the last judge to hold the office of

Lord Chancellor of Ireland The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland (commonly known as Lord Chancellor of Ireland) was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801, it was also the highest political office of ...

, and Katherine Mary Jeffcock. He succeeded to the title on his father's death in 1935.

Military career

Ross was commissioned into the North Irish Horse on 21 June 1907 as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

, and was promoted to

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 23 April 1912. He served in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

with the North Irish Horse. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 12 December 1914, and later to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. He was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

. He resigned his commission in 1938, but rejoined his regiment in 1939 and served in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, reaching the rank of

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

. He transferred to the

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...

in 1947 and retired in 1950. Ross is best remembered as The 'One Man Regiment' from 1934 to 1938, when he was the sole member of the North Irish Horse, a squadron-sized yeomanry regiment.

Political career

Ross stood unsuccessfully against

Sidney Webb Sidney James Webb, 1st Baron Passfield, (13 July 1859 – 13 October 1947) was a British socialist, economist and reformer, who co-founded the London School of Economics. He was an early member of the Fabian Society in 1884, joining, like Geo ...

as the Conservative candidate in the Seaham constituency of County Durham in the General Election 1923 and the October 1924 General Election. He was elected unopposed to the British Parliament in 1929 in a byelection for the Londonderry constituency, a seat once held by his father. He was re-elected unopposed for the same constituency in 1931 and 1935. He was returned again in 1945 and again in 1950 with majorities of 50.75% and 62.59% respectively, before resigning his seat in 1951, triggering an uncontested by-election which was won by the Ulster Unionist Party.

Personal life

His wife was Lady Dorothy Evelyn Francis Ross. It is not clear if they had any children (se
NPG
. He died in 1958, aged 69.

Arms

References

External links

Election history for Ronald Deane Ross

NPG.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Ronald Deane 1888 births 1968 deaths British Militia officers Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers officers British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Ulster Unionist Party members of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Recipients of the Military Cross North Irish Horse officers Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Londonderry constituencies (since 1922) UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 UK MPs 1935–1945 UK MPs 1945–1950 UK MPs 1950–1951